After Tuesday’s primary election, it seems increasingly clear to me that Californians must either change the voter initiative process or get rid of it altogether.

The problem is Proposition 16, which was justifiably defeated. But it was too close of a call for my liking.

Voters opposed it by 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent.

How did such an outrageously unworthy proposition achieve so many votes?

The answer is money.

Pacific Gas & Electric, the utility with a near-monopoly in Northern California, spent $46 million to blanket the state with pro-Prop. 16 ads.

Opponents only raised $90,000.

A few more millions and PG&E may have had its way, which would have been a travesty.

Prop. 16 would have required a two-thirds vote for a local government to form or expand its own utility.

Such a high threshold is almost insurmountable for even the most worthy of ventures. That allows PG&E to protect its monopoly.

There may be good reasons to have a local government utility, such as lower rates for consumers and the use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

Prop. 16 would have basically reduced the number of choices for California consumers. The only winner would have been PG&E and other for-profit utilities.

A good sign of how bad PG&E’s motives were regarding Prop. 16: People in Northern California who deal with this company were much more likely to vote down the initiative than those in the rest of the state.

California’s voter initiative process was based on the idealistic notion of putting regular folks in a position to create laws, bypassing lobbyists and the buying of politicians.

But this type of direct democracy has not always allowed us to transcend political money in the name of the common good.

That is because money can corrupt the initiative process just like it corrupts politicians. Voters can be duped by unscrupulous businesses with a super-charged money reserve to buy ads.

The utility based its initiative hopes on people lounging in front of their TV screens and soaking up the glow of countless commercials, with little air time for an opposing view.

PG&E also counted on the votes of people who responde like Pavlovian dogs, salivating with support, when they hear the words, “Taxpayers Right to Vote Act.”

Californians just had a close call with a thoroughly unworthy proposition that the voter initiative process was created to help us avoid.

We have to change this form of direct democracy. Because next time, we may not be so fortunate.